Instructors, black belts, and brown belts, by now the new manual should have been thumbed through a few times. Exciting, right? Has everyone taken a look at the updated curriculum? The new kihon will challenge your students, and give them that satisfying feeling of accomplishment! If you haven’t ordered yours, contact HQ.

The hombu has about 30 left in stock, so ask your dojo cho to email headquarters@jkr.com for a fresh copy!*Fine Print: You have to be a current JKR brown belt, JKR black belt, or JKR Instructor to purchase one. Speak to your dojo cho ASAP!*

Implementation schedule for the updated curriculum will be available for download online. The updated curriculum will also be available for download online. *wait…really?

JKRi Winter Gasshuku is coming up! This will be the first international event at the new Hombu.

There are two hotels that are within walking distance of the new Hombu: Holiday Inn Express, Anaheim South and Candlewood Suite, GG/Anaheim
December 2 – 4, 2016 (BTW, it’s always the first weekend in December)

50th Annual JKRi Event will be May 4 – 7, 2017. Official invitations will be sent out January 1, 2017.

This is a huge milestone in JKR history, and we’re going to do it up right with celebrity guests, world-class seminars, and maybe even some dancing. Mark your calendars now. This is a must-attend event!

The JKR Manual 2.0 publishing has been delayed due to formatting issues with Amazon. As soon as it is ready we will send out a very excited email to all instructors!

The Yudanshakai Executive Council appreciates your patience and understanding.

There may have been a bit of confusion when it came to our JKR Database site. JKR Database is a separate login from JKR.com site. Consider them different websites. Separate. Independent. Divided. Unaccompanied. You get the idea.

Instructors: please make sure you register yourself so your students can find you in the drop down.

Make sure to take a look at the JKR Calendar for different seminars, instructor training, and other JKR-related events coming up. Email headquarters@jkr.com to get your event up on our calendar!

On Saturday October 31st, 2015, 15 students from our dojo participated in a local tournament hosted by Sensei Basil Damianos of Holy Cross Goju Ryu Academy. All students were registered and participated in 2 events, kata and kumite. Those 15 students include:

Dave Griffen (White), 2nd & 2nd

Tyler Ndlovu (White), 2nd & 3rd

Danaya Coleby (Yellow), 3rd & 3rd

Khaden Johnson (Orange), 1st & 1st

Jaden Bethel (Orange), 2nd & 2nd

Alexander Butler (Green), 3rd & 3rd

Chianna Diggiss (Green), 1st & 1st

Robyn Evans (Green), 1st & 3rd

Aiden Johnson (Blue), 2nd in kata

Alexander Turner (Blue), 3rd & 3rd

Charles William Diggis (Red), 3rd & 1st

Duran Rolle (Red)

Jadyn Munnings (Brown), 1st & 2nd

William Knowles Brown, 3rd & 1st

Nathaniel Woodside (Black), 1st & 1st

I want to thank Sensei Evans for accompanying the students to this event. Without him, our participation would not have been possible.

Please join me in Congratulating these 15 students for doing such a wonderful job representing our school so well. I have since been contacted via social media by judges and scorekeepers from this event commending our students for their mature and organized behavior in public. This makes me very proud to know that our students conducted themselves accordingly. I understand the team spirit was very strong but was kept in order. The parental support was very strong and the coaching was unbelievably awesome.

I want to thank those parents who supported this event and ask for your continued support for future events.

To those students who like myself were unable to attend and participate, please know the dojo intends on putting on a similar tournament in the near future which will accommodate all.

Best Regards to our 15 champions. We certainly have something to celebrate!!!!

My most memorable seminar with Sensei Yamazaki was during September the 5th, 6th and 7th (this week). It was the most memorable seminar as Sensei Yamazaki gave an inspirational speech. The inspirational speech motivated me to practice and improve my karate for his next visit and my oncoming karate career. Sensei also prepared us for our black belt grading (later on the week) which helped us a lot! I am excited and looking forward to see Sensei Yamazaki next year. Happy 75th Birthday Sensei Yamazaki!

Karate has always been a big part of my life, and I became interested in it from a very young age. I began Japan Karate-Do Ryobu-Kai when I was in 4th grade and have loved it ever since.

I came into karate thinking that we would be chopping blocks and yelling kiais, but I have found that this sport is so much more than that. I am now a nidan level black belt and believe that this sport has played a big part in who I am today. Karate has taught me to be disciplined, focused, and to show lots of confidence no matter where I am. I also saw the example of my senseis at Woodside, who not only devoted so much of their time to teaching us, but regularly practiced themselves, always working to improve.

Now as a sempai I am able to teach others and learn new skills from a teaching point of view. I have gone through struggles as well as successes as I have progressed through the different belts, each time learning a new skill. With these essential skills, I was able to apply for a competitive med-school program at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Part of the application process included ten interviews at ten minutes each and I can say that the experience of preparing and testing for the each belt level really helped me.

I am now currently enrolled in a 6-yr combined BA/MD medical program with UMKC and believe that without karate I would not have been able to be as confident or as disciplined in my studies in school.

Sudden death in people under the age of 35, though rare, is often due to hidden heart defects, other heart abnormalities, cardiac arrest or heart attack. When these sudden deaths occur, it’s often during physical activity, such as athletic training or a sporting event.

Cardiac arrest is not the same as a heart attack. Sudden cardiac arrest occurs when the heart becomes rapid or irregular due to force or changes in the pumping action of the heart, which then causes the heart to begin a heart rhythm that is not life sustaining, therefore the heart will suddenly stop beating. A heart attack occurs when the blood supply to part of the heart muscle is blocked and oxygen is no longer being pumped to that area. To have a myocardial infarction means the heart muscle (myo- means muscle and -cardial means the heart) has died due to lack of oxygen (infarct) which results in the heart attack. The heart attack then may cause cardiac arrest and ultimately death.

The most common cause of cardiac arrest is a dysrhythmia called ventricular fibrillation. Ventricular fibrillation is not a life sustaining heart rhythm. When this occurs, the ventricles in your heart (these are the bottom 2 chambers of your heart) begin to quiver uselessly instead of pumping blood. These dysrhythmias can occur in a person with a normal, healthy heart, when an outside trigger, such as an electrical shock or the use of illegal drugs is present. Ventricular fibrillation can also occur when there is trauma to the chest at just the right moment during the heart’s pumping cycle. This is called commotio cordis. Commotio cordis, though rare, can occur in anyone, though it’s usually heard about when it occurs in people who play sports. This type of trauma can happen when a baseball or hockey puck hits then chest. It can also occur with a simple kick or punch to the chest during that vulnerable moment in the heart beat. Cardiac arrest happens very quickly after impact, with the person having only seconds left before death occurs. Having every JKR instructor not only CPR certified, but recertified yearly to ensure competency will help to ensure the safety of all JKR participants.

CPR is a vital intervention for people that experience cardiac arrest. CPR can more than double a patient’s chances of survival, but unfortunately less than one-third of the people that experience cardiac arrest actually receive CPR prior to emergency personnel arriving. The poor response to bystander CPR is usually due to lack of confidence in one’s ability to perform CPR or their failure to recognize the signs of cardiac arrest. To improve the chances of survival, it is critical that all JKR instructors be both confident and competent in recognizing cardiac arrest and know how to take action immediately. The greatest barrier to a success is fear and fear can be eliminated through consistent yearly training and education in CPR.

Cost: Approximately $25 – $50 per person per year
Look for community events holding free CPR classes, non-profit organizations, groupon, and yelp

**ATTN JKRi Winter Gasshuku Participants** Dinner reservation at Umami Burger - Anaheim @ 7:15p. Headcount has already been taken. You can still go even if you weren't part of Mina Yamazaki - USA Karate's headcount. Just grab a table near the group.